Paschaltide
by 263Adder
Summary: While the Umbrella Academy are at an Easter Egg Hunt hosted by the Mayor, Vanya is left behind at the manor. Her French lesson is about to become more fun than expected however, with a little help from Number Five. Series: Paper Chains Part 3.


Standing beside Pogo to wave the others off, Vanya focused hard on keeping her face composed and clear of the hurt she felt tearing its way through her narrow frame.

The Umbrella Academy had been invited to take part in an Easter Egg Hunt by the Mayor of New York City in reward for their good works – that was the pretence for their presence anyway. Five had told her the Mayor was also concerned about some death threats that had been made against his press secretary and wanted some extra security in case their would-be-murder decided to strike during the public event.

As Vanya wasn't a member of the Academy, she hadn't received an invitation. So while her siblings went off to frolic and survey the grounds of the estate, searching for hidden goods to exchange for chocolate and adulation, Vanya would sit with Grace in an additional French lesson which had been organised to keep her amused.

Ben and Five had already promised to bring her some Easter Eggs back; Ben had even stitched an extra pocket into his blazer so he would have space to bring her as much as possible. It really didn't lessen the sting of exclusion, especially as they had woken up to such a glorious day, but she appreciated their promises. Sunshine was streaming through every window, yet Vanya couldn't even bask in that – Reginald didn't like her lingering near the external panes lest she was sighted. Perhaps Mom would take pity and allow her in the courtyard for a spell.

Once Dad's inspection of the Academy was complete, checking that everyone was dressed to his standards, they began to file out the house. Five chanced shooting her a wink as he went, to which Vanya managed a small returning smile – mainly done to lessen his worry.

"Time to head to the classroom, Miss Vanya." Pogo said genially, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Mom was waiting for her inside but, instead of the room being set up for her lesson, everything was still tidied away as it had been after their last class of the day.

"Mom?"

Grace smiled at Pogo who smiled back. She extended her arm towards Vanya with a flourish, a roll of paper held in hand.

Tentatively accepting it, worrying that it was from Reginald since he was usually the only one in the household to send written notes, Vanya ran her finger under the lip of the sealed edge and opened it to read.

_Le pain monte et la faim s'estompe, les prochains indices seront vos aides_.

Frowning, Vanya looked up at Grace: "Bread rises and hunger fades, the next clues will be your aids? I don't understand."

"Well, we couldn't get away with cancelling your lesson so you still must practise French," Grace said, looking to Pogo.

"Seeing as your siblings are participating in an egg hunt, we thought it would be appropriate to give you a version of your own. If you follow that clue, you will find a prize." Pogo explained, a thread of enthusiasm evident in his tone. "It was Master Five's idea."

"Although I had to provide some translation," Grace interjected.

"As Grace and I were able to connect the exercise to your scheduled lesson, we saw no reason it could not be enacted." Pogo continued. "Presuming you are, as they say, _game_?"

Giving her first genuine grin of the day, Vanya beamed at the pair. "Of course!"

"If you are to finish and enjoy your prize before the other's return, I suggest you start quickly," Grace advised.

"You must finish before Sir Reginald and the other children return." Pogo stressed, subtly communicating that her day's activity had not been _entirely_ approved.

"Okay," Vanya said, scanning the piece of paper again. "This must be a reference to the kitchen?"

She glanced back at the adults but their lips were sealed.

"Oh right, you won't be able to help me." She tittered. "I'll get started."

Hurrying towards the kitchen, Vanya nearly skidded in her haste as she entered the tiled room.

"Well bread rises in the oven, but it can also rise when Mum adds yeast and leaves the dough covered. Which she usually does at the table which is where food is eaten." She mused.

Looking at the table, Vanya rooted through the fruit bowl in the centre and soon produced a second slip of paper.

Unfurling it, she read the next clue.

_Les connaissances sont acquises et les secrets sont retirés_.

"Knowledge is acquired and secrets are retired." Vanya read aloud since the manor was empty. "Well, that's easy. It's in the library."

Striding across the first floor, Reginald's rules too ingrained to even think of running, she pushed her way into the library and peered around. It was a large room – plenty of hiding places for the next clue.

Deciding to try the dictionaries and encyclopaedias first, she flipped through the pages, ran her hands over the tops of the books and glanced between the volumes yet nothing caught her attention. Widening her search to the science section, since the quiz had apparently been Five's creation, Vanya continued her search.

She couldn't wait to thank him once he got back; she had been so certain she'd been forgotten in the holiday celebrations but, as usual, Five had thought of her. It was why she was always so grateful to have him as her best friend. Even if the fact he felt the same confused her to no end.

Out of habit, Vanya wandered towards the couch Five usually favoured and, as a result, where she commonly sat too. She had to be missing something in the clue so, as she sat, she pulled the paper back out of her blazer to glance at it again.

_Knowledge is acquired and secrets are retired_.

The pair had learnt and discussed a lot sat on that couch, perhaps that was what the clue meant?

Standing back up, Vanya pulled away the couch cushions and was unable to withhold an uncharacteristic whoop of delight when she found the third clue written in her Mom's distinctly elegant hand.

_Si la musique est la nourriture de l'amour joue sur._

Vanya beamed at the paper, surprised to find a Shakespeare quote on it. 'If music be the food of love, play on' – a favourite line of hers, even if she had never cared for the play in which it originated. It surprised her Five knew it though, given how his eyes rolled every time she or Ben tried to recommend a piece of fiction.

The clue had to be referring to the music room, where she had plenty of music books stored, and should either be referring to a romantic piece or a piece from the Romantic era. Either way, that room was where Vanya was in her element, and she was confident she could find the next one in no time.

Lightly jogging up the steps, she headed along the corridor until she entered the music room. It had once been on the ground floor, filled with multiple instruments, but, once it became clear that Vanya was the only one who held any interest in music, most of the instruments had been put in the attic and a smaller room upstairs was designated for her violin practice. Inside there were several spare violins (her own too precious to leave unguarded and was kept inside her closet), a mandolin she had yet to work up the courage to try, metronomes, and volumes and volumes of sheet music.

Her favourites were in a pile of their own and more neatly organised than the others, with the general aura surrounding them of something that is well treasured.

Flipping through them, Vanya started with her favourite Romantic composers and was able to locate the clue wedged between Brahms' violin concerto, one of the most formidable pieces in her collection, and Bizet's Carmen prelude.

It fluttered away with the haste of her search and, to her annoyance, settled under the desk.

After fishing for it, not noticing the dust she collected on the hem of her skirt in the process, Vanya stood up and eagerly pulled the paper open.

_Il est propulsé mais ne vole jamais, soyez prêt, cela peut prendre plusieurs essais_.

Pursing her lips, Vanya considered the clue wondering what it could mean. It was the first to stump her. She was also beginning to question just how many clues Five had prepared; the others were only meant to be gone for a few hours.

"It is propelled but never flies, be prepared, it may take several tries?" She mused, glancing around the room for any inspiration. Nothing helped her, so she re-examined the paper wondering if she had perhaps misinterpreted, yet she came to the same dead end.

"Well, propelled would suggest a plane, but it doesn't fly? Maybe it's a play on words? All the other ones have been fairly literal though – I must be missing something."

Deciding to walk to her room and check her translation work in the English-French dictionary she kept in there, Vanya continued to read as she walked and nearly tripped on the landing rug as she did.

Paying more attention after that, her feet stopped her sooner than planned when she rounded the corridor to the children's wing. Directly ahead of her, two doors down from her own bedroom, was Luther's. The door was open and the instant she set sights on what lay beyond the answer to the clue became glaringly obvious.

Strung up, covering the entirety of Luther's ceiling were tiny little model planes – including ones with propeller blades. Craning her neck, she surveyed them carefully for any other clues. Eventually she spotted a red plane beside Luther's bed which seemed to be listing at an angle.

Standing on the mattress, Vanya reached up and tentatively pulled the paper from the model, unconsciously holding her breath as she waited in dread for the moment she would doubtlessly make a mistake and ruin the toy; bringing Luther's wrath and all the other siblings' down upon her.

Miraculously, the paper came away easily and, despite jostling a little from the weight change, the plane stayed attached to the ceiling.

Not wanting to stand in Luther's bedroom longer than necessary, even if she was excited to read the next clue, Vanya hastened out of the room trying to ensure everything looked exactly as it had when she first entered so no one would suspect her of snooping.

_Les portraits avec cet œuf que vous voyez, regardez le premier et là votre cinquième indice sera_.

"The portraits with this egg you see, look to the first and there your first clue will be. Okay, well that's easier."

The nearest portrait was of an unknown woman, located further along the children's corridor. Another slip of paper was tucked beneath the frame with a rudimentary egg drawn on it. Glancing at the title, she saw it was of someone called Greta Weisberg. Making a note of the first initial, G, Vanya hurried downstairs where the rest of the portraits were located.

It took her over twenty minutes to track them all down, Vanya glancing at the time whenever she passed a clock.

The final one was in Father's office, which Vanya scurried in and out of as quickly as possible to get the last initial, an S.

Glancing down at her piece of paper, she rearranged the words as quickly as she could – suddenly grateful for Ben getting her hooked on puzzles – and found her next clue.

Stopping to grab her coat, Vanya ventured out to the greenhouse.

Unlike the other clues, there was nothing to give her an idea of where the next message from Five would be but, thoroughly enjoying herself, she didn't care. Not once since she'd started, apart from in consideration of the time, had she thought of what the others were doing, and the sadness which had been gnawing at her before their departure was happily forgotten. Once the hunt was over, she would have to think of something nice she could do for Five in return. It must have taken him a long time to plan all of this, especially in convincing Pogo to permit it.

Lifting the plant pots, Vanya found the sixth clue underneath the pot of her favourite plant in the greenhouse; a purple orchid. She was surprised that Five would remember information that was so inane and decided it must have been a coincidence.

_La faim est éteinte mais la curiosité n'est jamais rassasiée, retrouvez-moi ici et le jeu sera à moitié terminé_.

Hunger is quenched yet curiosity is never sated, find me here and the game will be half complete.

Slightly disappointed that her rare opportunity for fun was running out, Vanya still hastily followed the instruction and ran (Reginald's rules forgotten) to the dining room.

'Curiosity is never sated' had to be a dig at the records that accompanied every meal, which Five was always so disparaging towards. Checking the record player produced nothing, but when she sifted through the records stored below she found one album wasn't quite in line with the others.

Pulling it out, she read the title Sir Reginald had added to the blank cover – Hunting for Survival. That would tie into the rest of the clue, she reasoned.

Gently removing the album, dreading the punishment she would receive if she damaged it, Vanya fished her hand into the empty sleeve until she found the paper she sought, which hadn't been rolled up this time.

Flipping it over, she read the seventh clue.

_Où le septième demeurerait-il, pour le huitième le trouverait et je vous le dirai_.

"Where else would the seventh dwell," Vanya grinned, "for the eighth find it and I will tell."

Replacing the album, she headed back upstairs. Vanya wondered when Five had time to hide the clue in her room given she had been in there up until she had to wave them off.

Unlike the others, the next clue wasn't in the slightest bit hidden – sitting in the middle of her bed – and it was also the first to be accompanied by a prize. A small chocolate, wrapped in pink paper, was perched next to the rolled paper and Vanya happily ate it as she examined the eighth clue.

_Pour trouver cela, vous devez gravir le sommet, au sommet se trouve ce que vous cherchez_.

It was only when Vanya translated it into English – to find this you must climb the peak, at the top is what you seek – that she could appreciate the rhyme. It had to have taken Five hours to prepare all of this, just to give her something fun to do while the other children were away.

She felt her heart swell at the thought.

Climbing flight after flight of stairs, Vanya pushed her way into the attic.

The ceiling was lower than the other floors, but she was familiar with the grand space even in the dark, as Five often liked to drag her up there. He enjoyed the view from the window, so Vanya headed towards it and was rewarded with the glint of candy wrappers.

This clue was accompanied by three chocolates, of red, green and blue paper.

She plopped one in her mouth, pocketing the others. Taking more time to look at this clue than she had the others, knowing this had to be the penultimate if the fifth clue was correct, Vanya scanned Grace's neat handwriting.

_Dans mon jardin je reste assis et regarde, sans mon perchoir je ne réparerais pas_.

"Amongst my garden I sit and stare, without my perch I would not repair," Vanya said, grimacing a little at the imagery. She wondered if Grace was able to interpret the flowery prose and realise Five was referring to her 'room'.

Luckily, Grace was not there for Vanya to ask.

_Votre dernier jeton est proche. pour le trésor que vous voulez racheter. J'ai caché le dixième où nous aimons rêver_.

"Your last token is close; for the treasure, you'll need it to redeem. I've hidden the tenth where we like to dream."

Hearing a clack from downstairs, Vanya glanced over the bannister and saw Pogo heading towards the front door.

Abhijat must have contacted him to tell him they were coming home; she had to hurry.

The only place in the house Vanya slept and had dreams rather than nightmares was thankfully not far away.

Flat out running this time, nearly slamming into a wall when she rounded a corner and her shoes skidded across the polished floor, Vanya clambered up the last flight of stairs and bounded towards Five's room.

To her surprise, there was another clue on his desk beside a large pile of chocolate. Assuming that was the treasure, Vanya was confused about why she would need another clue.

The final message required no translation: _You're cleverer than I am, I thought it would take you longer. Wait for me here, don't wander_.

Pulling back Five's desk chair, Vanya took a seat and flipped the paper over wondering if there was more.

There was no further explanation, so Vanya guessed he must want her to wait to hear about the party. Settling in, she only had to wait a few minutes before that familiar blue spark lit up the room.

* * *

Jumping upstairs as soon as he was dismissed, Five was thrilled to find Vanya waiting for him.

"Clever clogs." He commented dryly, as her eyes shot to his.

"You're back." Vanya grinned, jumping up from the chair.

"I don't know how long these egg hunts take normal kids, but I only..."

He was cut off by Vanya's arms suddenly shooting around his neck. Pressing herself tightly into the embrace, her head buried next to his, he heard her words of thanks but his mouth was too full of her hair to manage a suitable reply.

Tentatively placing his hands on her waist, he accepted her hug happily – knowing there was still more to please her with.

She pulled back and held up his last piece of paper. "This was _amazing_! I can't believe you did all of this."

The '_for me_' was unspoken, but Five still heard it in her words.

Shrugging as though it were nothing, despite it taking several days of planning, Five stepped further away from her so he could make another jump. "It's still not over yet." He promised. "Wait here."

"What are you up to?" Vanya asked curiously, automatically trying to close the gap between them.

Holding up a hand to stop her, he asked: "Trust me?"

"Yes." She replied immediately, to his pleasure.

He grinned. "Good. Close your eyes?"

Contradicting his instruction entirely, her eyes widened. "_Five_?"

"I won't be a minute. No. Not even ten seconds." He assured her in return.

Looking at him dubiously, Vanya's eyes slowly slid shut.

When he was confident she wasn't peeking, Five jumped to a waiting Abhijat and retrieved the treasure which Vanya had to collect for the hunt to end.

Landing before her, Five thrust the gift in her direction. "You can look now."

As the toy eclipsed his view of her, he could only hear her exclamation of joy and surprise until she finally accepted the stuffed animal and clutched it to her chest.

Vanya was looking down at the large rabbit, her eyes almost glowing, and when she met his watchful gaze, it was with the widest smile he had ever seen on her face.

He wished she looked that way every day.

"This is for _me_?"

Five nodded, his throat suddenly feeling tight. "It's not much, I got it for winning the egg hunt. Well, that and a giant Easter egg but that got confiscated as soon as we got in the car. I can probably steal it back if you..."

Vanya had inched nearer the whole time he spoke, and she brought his rambling to an abrupt close when she pressed a kiss to his cheek. His face burned in response.

"Best day ever." She mumbled against his skin. "Thank you, Five."

"You're welcome, Vanya." Five said, wanting to press his fingers to the spot she had just marked, but he had enough sense not to do so while she was still around.

"Are you going to tell me about the party then?"

"If you like." He agreed, glad for the respite as Vanya backed away to sit on his bed.

He joined her, trying to maintain a sliver of space between them but it was forgotten as he began to talk and tell her about the Academy's latest mission, as always losing himself in the story as he was given the chance to brag to her about his recent heroics.

Five wasn't so far removed from the situation however to ignore how Vanya kept a hold of her toy the entire time, her smile still blinding and her eyes never leaving his for a second.

* * *

Day three. Today's goes to another dedicated reader of my TUA works who I wanted to gift this to. SilverCoins, thank you for all your comments and support over this year. I hope you continue to enjoy my work! You're awesome!

To any French speakers, please excuse my French. I only studied it for three years at secondary school and I had to look up a lot of words to make these clues as I've forgotten most of it. And yes, the scavenger hunt was inspired by Parks & Rec when Leslie sends Ben off on one for Valentine's Day. I had thought of an alternative egg hunt for Vanya already, but re-watching that episode shaped this story.

I hope you all enjoyed this work. Check back with me tomorrow for day four which may be one of my favourites! 3


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